Chris Hemsworth stars in the new movie Avengers and he plays “Thor”, his character from the 2011 movie of the same name.

There is little doubt that Chris had to get ripped for his role in both movies and with a little hard work, you can get there too. Do this 4-week workout twice per week to start looking more like a god!

Why you need to do this. Besides the fact that large, meaty traps look good in t-shirts, strong traps will help improve your posture and help stabilize your shoulders, thus preventing injury. Did you know that your traps are among the hardest working muscles in your body? The only time they rest is when you’re lying down. The idea is to target your traps and rear delts through a primal, Conan workout. The behind the back shrug.

Two things are important about doing this workout: the setup and the movement.

The setup

Stand with your feet, hip width apart keeping your knees soft and not tight. Do this while holding a barbell behind you with a shoulder width grip, palms facing away from you. Remember to stand tall, lifting your chest and relaxing your neck.

The movement

Shrug straight up! Not forward or rearward. Shrug to your ears dragging the barbell along your body behind you. When you have reached your highest point, pause for a moment, squeeze, then slowly lower the weight. Bring the barbell all the way down to the start position to fully disengage and stretch your neck and traps.

So what does Chris Hemsworth do when he isn’t hitting the weights? Dances of course! This video is from the Australian version of Dancing With The Stars. Despite Chris’s size, he still is able to move. Maintaining flexibility is key. Although not the best dancer, without it, Chris would not be able to move like he does. Enjoy!

After Chris Hemsworth went through his growth stage for Thor, he was too big. He needed to get a little leaner. One of the ways to accomplish this without losing muscle mass is to do a program like P90x. It provides cardio which will give you a leaner look than traditional heavy weight lifting. You won’t get huge, but done properly you can tighten and tone the muscle mass you have. Look at this transformation to see the effect a P90x workout can have on your body!

Before preparing for Thor, Chris Hemsworth had never really used weights before. It didn’t take long for him to get the body you see in the movies but it did take a lot of hard work, dedication, and planning.

Here is a workout that will move you from a couch potato to Thor body in only 5 weeks:

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Do you want arms like Chris Hemsworth in Thor? He grew so big he didn’t even fit into his costume when it came time for the final fitting! Here is a workout to get the arms of Thor.

Hammer Curls
Start with lighter weight and do 15 reps
Now pick a heavier weight and do 4 sets of 8 reps, resting in between.

Barbell Tricep Extensions
Lie on a bench and press the barbell (no weight) up and bend at the elbow, hands shoulder width apart.
Add weight that allows you to perform 6 reps, for 4 sets, resting in between.

Barbell Curls
Grab the bar with a wide grip. Start with no weight for 15 reps to warm up.
Add weight that allows you to perform 6 reps , for 4 sets, resting in between.

Tricep Pushdown
Select a weight that allows you to do 15 reps for warm up.
Add weight that allows you to 12 reps, for 5 sets, resting in between.

In order to get a picture of the transformation needed for the character Thor Chris looked at Thor comic books and noticed Thor was HUGE! Chris knew he wasn’t going to be able to become a 500 pound Schwarzenegger body type. So Chris talked with Ken about it, he said Chirs needed to be “Impressively Big” but it had to be functional. Both didn’t want Chris to look blocky like a steroided up gym guy, it needed to be that functional strong. So basically Chris’ workouts needed to mix in the right amount of weights with the right amount of cardio. Workouts listed HERE.

In the interview, he is asked the question “was you body fake?” Chris’s response was basically the times its me, its me. He goes on to explain that he has lost a lot of weight after the movie from simply not eating enough.

Your body is like an engine. It needs fuel. The bigger you build the engine, the more fuel it requires. If you don’t give it the fuel it needs, it won’t run properly. Chris lost weight because he was no longer providing his body’s mass with the fuel it needed to remain. This brings up the importance of eating for growth. Your body needs the fuel if you want to gain mass. Read here for more on what your body needs to grow.

A staple of Chris Hemsworth’s workouts for Thor were non-traditional routines, meaning he used things like ropes, kettle bells, tires, medicine balls, etc. in addition to standard weight lifting.

The goal of these workouts was for strengthening both the core and other muscles. By creating instability during a workout, you exercise muscles that would otherwise be left out by traditional weight lifting. Below is a simple demonstration of workouts that combine instability and strength training. Feel free to add these workouts to your routine to get that Thor body!